Two of Utah’s members of Congress face primary challenges

Of the four members of Utah’s congressional delegation, one is running for Senate, two — Rep. Blake Moore and Rep. Celeste Maloy — face primary challenges, and the fourth faces only a general election challenge this year.

Maloy was sworn into Congress two months ago after winning a special election. She hasn’t wasted time in gearing up for her reelection, especially since she is still new to her 2nd District constituents.

Maloy and Moore, who represent Utah’s 1st District, each face two candidates in the Republican primary scheduled for June 25.

Utah Republican Party delegates will nominate candidates for each district at the convention on April 27. But candidates can gather 7,000 signatures from registered voters in their districts to qualify for the primary if they don’t win at the convention, and if they chose that option when they filed to run.

Here’s everything you need to know about Maloy and Moore’s challengers.

Rep. Celeste Maloy’s Republican challengers

Colby Jenkins, a former U.S. Army Special Forces Green Beret colonel and combat veteran, declared he was challenging Maloy in mid-January. In a statement to the Deseret News, he said the voters “deserve a representative who will protect and defend our Constitution and not enable the government to continue unconstitutional programs.”

“We deserve a representative who is serious and who values the ability to vote in an election before seeking the vote of others. We deserve a representative who has experience in leadership, judgment and is not bulldozed by the pressures of Washington, D.C.,” Jenkins said.

The St. George resident serves as the director of tech integration for Crown Castle, a national telecommunications company. In the past, he worked with Congress as a Green Beret liaison, at the Pentagon as a counterterrorism policy adviser to the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and at George Washington University as a professor.

Jenkins said he “swore an oath to support and defend the Constitution against all enemies foreign and domestic” 25 years ago. He said he wants “to provide a positive contrast in leadership, judgment and accountability for the voters of Utah’s 2nd District.”

Ty Jensen, a conservative podcaster, is running two campaigns: One for the U.S. House to represent Utah’s 2nd District and for the office of the Utah RNC committeeman.

“I’m no lawyer, no aid, no staffer, I’m just the everyday working-class citizen who needs to put the wrongs of this nation right, and the only way we do that is by being held accountable,” he told the Deseret News. “I’ve lived in rural, suburban, and urban Utah and I know I can bring the people of this district and state together … by listening, learning and applying that knowledge.”

He is also running to become Utah’s national delegate to the Republican National Convention in July. In 2022, he challenged incumbent Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, and in 2020, he went up against former Utah Rep. Chris Stewart. For this election, he said he plans to create an online platform to promote his campaign and gather the necessary signatures along with his volunteers because of his “personal disdain for paid signatures.” As an America First Republican candidate with libertarian right views, Jensen said he endorsed former President Donald Trump for 2024.

Jensen said one of his priorities is to set up a hydro pipeline or water storage facility in the state. On his website, he lists other bills he supports, like the No Child Left Hungry Act, which would fund school breakfast or lunch programs, or the Build It Better Act, which would revamp constructing the southern border wall.

Also in the race are Democratic candidate Brian Adams and Constitution Party candidate Cassie Easley, who is serving as the state party vice chair.

Rep. Blake Moore’s Republican challengers

An electrician by profession, Paul Miller, a 40-year-old resident of South Ogden, who is from northern Utah, told the Deseret News in a written statement that he would have never guessed he would run for office.

“But when we see the state our country is in, the dire circumstances we face, and how Congress is complacent in solving the major issues at hand, I knew I needed to put myself out there to devote my life to the cause of bettering our nation before it falls apart,” he said.

If elected, he wants to address border security and focus on government reform, like passing term limits, reworking the budgeting system and restricting Congress from participating in insider trading.

Miller is also interested in combating “woke policy” which, he said, puts a “tremendous unnecessary financial burden on the country, places us further and further away from a capitalist/free enterprise system.”

Derek Draper, a 2023 city council candidate, declared his candidacy for Utah’s 1st District on Jan. 4. In a statement to the Deseret News, he said he has lived in the Beehive State — specifically Weber County — for the majority of his life.

“I have chosen to live my life in Utah and raise my kids here for its family values and great sense of community,” he said. Draper served in the U.S. Army and as a police officer in Ogden City, where he chose to retire.

“The bulk of my adult life has been in public service and I am looking forward to continuing that service by representing our citizens,” Draper said. “I believe in God, Family, Country.” He said he believes in the America First and MAGA movement, adding that he is “a 100% supporter of our President Donald J. Trump.”

Also in the race is Democrat Bill Campbell, an accountant, businessman and the 2022 GOP candidate, and Libertarian Party candidate Daniel Cottam, a surgeon who ran in the 2020 gubernatorial election and the 2022 state House race.

Rep. John Curtis recently kicked off his campaign for the U.S. Senate. While he is running for Sen. Mitt Romney’s seat, the race for Utah’s 3rd District, which Curtis represents, is wide open with roughly 10 Republicans going up against each other in the primary. Meanwhile, Owens, a Republican who represents Utah’s 4th District, doesn’t have a primary challenger.